Beijing and Moscow May Develop Network of Waterways through Russian Far East and Siberia, Vladivostok Scholar Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 3 – Concerned that the US might block the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia in the event of a major conflict between Washington and Beijing, Artyom Lukin says, Moscow and Beijing could focus on the development of waterways in Eurasia to link China to the Northern Sea Route to the West.

            The scholar at the Russian Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok says that such a project, while enormously and certainly for Russia alone prohibitively expensive, would counter any American action and that Russia and China discussed this possibility during Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to China.

            Lukin’s words were first reported by the South China Morning News and have been picked up by Russian outlets (scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3268761/russia-looking-chinas-help-develop-arctic-shipping-route-it-worth-it-beijing and realtribune.ru/rossiya-rasschityvaet-na-pomoshh-kitaya-v-razvitii-severnogo-morskogo-puti/).

            While it seems unlikely that such a project could be completed anytime soon, the mere fact that it is being discusses suggests China’s role within the borders of the Russian Federation may now be set to expand to an unprecedented level, something that will infuriate many Russians, especially those in the Far East.